This invention relates generally to diagnostic imaging devices, and more particularly, to devices and apparatus that facilitate the cleaning and disinfecting of diagnostic imaging devices.
Diagnostic imaging devices such as ultrasound imaging devices require a user interface to control scanning operation and a display screen to view images being scanned. Usually, these devices have a separate console and display screen, but some devices include a box or tablet shaped scanner, with buttons adjacent the display screen. In either embodiment, there are physically separate components joined together to form the device.
In the case of an ultrasound imaging device, a display screen is used to view images produced by a probe and processed on electronic circuit boards of the device. In newer systems, the screen is often a flat panel framed in plastic without any other protection against chemicals or fluid splatter. The display screen surface itself may be damaged by repeated application of harsh chemicals and any fluid material that comes in contact with the display screen may seep into corners and edges of the frame, thereby potentially damaging the display screen or circuitry inside the device.
With known imaging devices using multiple components, there are part lines or seams where components join together, further increasing the risk of contamination by infectious diseases and/or bacteria in a medical environment in which a diagnostic imaging device may be employed. A similar risk of contamination is posed around key pads, mechanical buttons, trackballs, touch pads, etc., that are part of the diagnostic imaging device.
Cleaning the seams between all the components is a dirty task that may have to be performed daily by a biomedical engineer or other employee of a health facility in meticulous detail. However, there is a risk that the equipment may not be totally cleaned because small splatters of blood and other bodily fluids go unseen. To ameliorate this problem, flexible plastic films or sheets that that can be layered onto consoles and keyboards have been used.
Health facilities are now starting to report incidents of infection that occur during a patient's hospital stay and ultrasound usage in intensive care unit operating rooms for anesthesia, vascular line placement and other surgical procedures is increasing. In some cases, ultrasound scanners are considered too contaminated to place close to a patient during an operating room procedure. In other cases, to avoid infection and make cleaning simpler, the diagnostic imaging device is covered with plastic drapes or keyboard covers. However, these drapes or covers tend to interfere with the visibility of images and the operation of the imaging devices and may not always be completely effective in eliminating contamination. In still other cases, imaging devices are placed outside of the sterile field. However, the user then may have to twist and strain just to see an image and an additional person may be required to operate the imaging device.